Art ramble

Can hideous looking artwork become amazing just because you come up with some elaborate story behind it?

I'm pretty sure that if you put down a glass of water on a table and gave some elaborate meaning behind what everything represents it could be the best thing since sliced bread.

I think i just don't like minimalism thats all i want to see something that has had alot of hard work been put in to it or you can see the long thought process that brought the artist to this conclusion

Can art just be something thats aesthetically pleasing or does it always have to have a meaning?

If there is no meaning behind a piece of artwork and it is just aesthetically pleasing does it just become a skilled piece of craft?

Special effects /Prop making

This is a topic that i am especially interested in and what most of my sculpture is based around.
In previous discussions with tutors it has been noted that in my critical research that i look at alot of people in the film industry and not so much people in the art industry when it comes to this kind of work.
I would consider my sculpture art still but people have referred to some of my work being crafted.

This subject is something that is perhaps bothering me a little and it is something that i am choosing to look at for my dissertation next year.

Is prop making art/craft/design or all three?

Is the work that i do still classed under fine art? or have i become a designer if it is for a certain purpose? or do i just make crafts making something very specific and polished? is my work just a skill that someone would employ me for without having any say in how the finished outcome looked? would this still make me artistic if i was just following a sketch or a design for an idea of a sculpt?

I'm not really sure where i am anymore.

Display

As i have been looking at the way in which museums display there work in relation to my subject for my sculptures i realised that the way in which things are displayed are similar to how a art exhibition would be.
One of the pieces in the collections section at Leeds City Museum shows in a glass cabinet a scene of what looks like somebodies study.it has fancy wall paper and a dado rail.it also has some shelves up with books on and on the top shelf a variety of jars which have different specimens of creatures in. There is also a desk with papers left out as if somebody had been sat there recording there findings.In a small box there is also a row of pinned butterflies of different collections of species.
If i had time i would have probably of liked to have set up a space with my work in like this to display it for my exhibition.
A question i have thought about is , is a art gallery arranging the work like a museum would or is the museum arranging its work like a art gallery would or are they both just some kind of museum?

Royal Armouries

In this packed day i also took a trip to Royal Armouries.i had a look how some things were displayed

alot of the animals and people were posed like a real life sequence and were either in glass cabinets or even freestanding behind barriers in a walk way like this fight with a tiger and elephant

Henry Moore Institute and Leeds City Art Gallery

On the same day i also took a trip to go look at the new exhibition on at the henry moore institute.

http://www.henry-moore-fdn.co.uk/

this was the  Asta Gröting Sculpture: 1987-2008

i found some of it interesting like trying to figure out how certain sculptures were made and the processes using certain materials such as the space between two people having sex in rubber.i also quite liked the globular sculpts that came out from the wall.i think it was purely on the fact i wanted to touch them.i also quite liked the huge clump of earth which was suspended on the wall as if it had just been perfectly dug up and put there.

I also went next door to have a look at the 'Rank' exhibition.i did not find this interesting whatsoever so literally walked around the room and left.the only thing that interested me was that there was some little doll of the queen or something presented in a bell jar which was relevant to my project

Leeds Met exhibition

ok now this was a long time ago.just trying to catch up on my blogging whilst i temporarily have the internet today

The main piece i went to see at the met was Cornelia Parkers floating bricks as part of the ' Perhaps nothing, perhaps something' exhibition.

I really liked how it seemed to be suspending time and how the front bricks stayed stable on the ground and as you moved around the piece the suspended pieces began to sway.i had a look at Parkers other suspended work and i think they look amazing making things that seem quite heavy object weightless in time.

at this exhibition i also saw Rachel Whitereads casts of the undersides of chairs in resin.i suppose i didn't think they were that visually appealing to me but it might have been to do with the dank green and browny colours that the resin was cast.It all seems a bit too easy aswel.I'm not to sure really how i feel on them.

the rest of the work in the exhibition was pretty shocking i thought. it was one of these times when i went oh so anything can be art nowadays and also how did this kind of stuff get into a gallery space. someone must have liked it. it certainly wasn't me though.

it was quite a small space for a gallery but still reasonable sized to place work.i liked how the front of the gallery is glass so you can see inside at the work when it isn't open. also if it is open and the lights are on and its getting a bit darker then the gallery will illuminate inviting visitors

Busy Busy and productive day today

So i decided that i would go visit a load of the places that i kept saying i needed to go to in one day today.I went to the exhibition at Leeds Met gallery then went down to look around in Leeds City Museum, Henry Moore Institute, Leeds City Art Gallery and finally all the way to The Royal Armouries.I will post more detailed bits for each place i went to today over the next few days as i have alot to get down in so little time.

If i get time tomorrow i plan to go down the the carriageworks for the 'Culture Bazaar 2009' which is 'a free event for all the family top discover the magic of South Asian arts and cultures'
There are alot of performance pieces and demonstrations of traditional dances to join in with aswel as singing.i probably wont join in with these though.I am planning to go to have a look in the Rehearsal Room 4 for 'Indian arts and crafts,rangoli,henna and much,much more' also in Rehearsal Room 5 'Henna for everyone'

i may also have a little look in leeds City museum where the spoken word demo and interactive workshop is taking place.

i do not look out specifically to go to things like this regarding the asian culture.i just thought its a sunday and its local and free and there are craft workshops i can do which may be fun to play around in for a few hours.also have a go with henna again as i remember i used to do when i was at school around 13years old so thats errm 9 years ago.lol I'm getting old when your trying to remember things that happened almost a decade ago

Just putting my thoughts down

As time is slipping away i realise that my goal to make a finished beast/creature may not be possible up to a standard that i am happy with.i may have to go with the idea of bits or perhaps bits of a animal that shows varying bits mixed.i could display these similar to in a museum of natural history.I would like them if i did to be old fashioned so they have some character and a bit of a steam punk element to them.Bell jars, jars with cork tops, glass jars with flip down lids, bottles.





I put this last image of work inside a bell jar as i found it really interesting.although it may not be something that i would create to put in i like how the shape of the bell jar holds the piece in.i think the bell jar gives a certain touch to the piece

I was always planning to have a bit of text next to the creature to explain the history behind the mythical beast.What i may have to do in a similar way to a museum is to display one of the pieces of the creature like a found sample and then have a illustration or painting by the side of it as a 'artists representation' of what the creature would look like if it was alive today.similar to what they would do with a dinosaur.

Waste not ,want not

Relating to the creatures i have been creating it has been brought up the subject of taxidermy which i find quite interesting.There has also been talk of me trying to go to a taxidermist that is local so i can see how it is done.Even if i don't get to have a go it would be good to see how to pose them and in general the process.I have thought only today that maybe i could introduce the actual animals skins into my sculptures for example the fur from a rabbit if i could preserve them ok.
I have found a taxidermy artist who's work is below.i have only put in images of her work and not a link to it as i want to keep it as my own private source.She makes pretty much exactly what i aim to do in my project.Getting parts of animals and piecing them together to make new ones.I also like how i am able to buy such things as squirrel heads furred and skinned and also other skulls etc.i can also get such things especially made but they are pricey and also take around 4 months minimum and some 12months.





I like the Frankenstein type of joining the animals which will probably be what stage i get to with rough joining.


I chose this image especially as i may only get chance to make bits rather than a full animal.i really like the old fashioned style of displaying them like in a bell jar.i have been collecting varying sized jars and bottles to perhaps put parts in as specimens.also in jars like pickled parts.i may have a go at making my own bell jars in clay and plaster.

Another example of a place i could look at displaying my work is in a museum as they have stuffed animals.This could be good for like specimens or remains of an animal in a mythological terms rather than a living creature which may not be possible due to timing.
I will make sure that i push myself to finally go down to Leeds City Museum as i still havent made it down like i said i was going to

Thoughts over the past few days

Just letting myself babble a bit to get down in writing some of the things i have been thinking about and seen from Friday and over the weekend.
First off on Friday i had a little wander into town and had a quick look in Muji.I was looking at all the fancy acrylic things like for storing CDs etc and thought how much does this look like some sort of casing to go on top of a plinth?

http://www.muji.eu/pages/online.asp?V=1&Sec=3&Sub=17

There is a whole range of them that could just be display pieces.Then again I'm not too sure if i want my work in glass casings again.Theres this feeling that i want it out in the open so that people can feel free to go near it and engage with it but then with this there is always the risk of the piece getting damaged.There is then the feeling of needing to protect it in someway.Is this a thing i need to over come and be less precious with things and accept that it may be handled and possibly damaged? Will it become part of the piece when it gets damaged a bit like the soap wall that i had displayed in college? Or will it simply be the case that i need to be willing to go keep repairing it once damaged?

Another thought was that i have been eying up these spaces as some sort of studio or gallery space for years it seems.they are these what seem like little basement spaces under some buildings just opposite and around the college opposite the Parkinson steps almost going towards the cash machines.They finally put up contact details with along with a To Let sign.I thought that it can't be too bad as every freshers week there is always some guys there doing poster sales.it is also in a prime location with many people passing at all times of the day.The unfortunate thing is though that i wrote the number to contact them down somewhere when i was walking home at something like 3am Saturday morning a little drunk so I'm not too sure where that number has gone lol.It is close enough so il just pop over again soon and also take a photograph.

Another space i keep walking past and never have my camera with me is the newly built bit glass cube that is available for retail rent that is jsut next to morrisons and on the corner of the merrion centre.it is a large space and again in a prime location with alot of people walking past every day and night.it also has the charm that as it is completely transparent that i can display my work and possibley an environment a bit like a shop window display similar to the harvey nichols ones dipicting a scene.The viewer then does not even have to go into the display just simply stop as they pass by.i will also get an image of this space and find out more details of having it.

Exchange By Pippa Hale at PSL

There was a piece called 'Exchange' at PSL which was like a table with compartments.you literally exchange items. Quite a few of us did it rummaging through our pockets for any random crap to put in.I even considered selling my soul for a tshirt at one point.Eventually i put in one of my homemade chocolate chip brownies and in exchange got a Moby Dick netsuke which was handcrafted as part of a limited edition of 50 by and artist.You then logged in a book what you put in and what you took.I think this is a really great idea as you can if you want pass on some personal or thoughtful gifts or even a part of your personality represented in how great or crap your gift was.I would have liked to have stayed just to see if anyone picked up the thing i left in the exchange

http://www.projectspaceleeds.org.uk/exchange_unide3d0_page.aspx

Did anyone else do the exchange? what did you give ? What did you recieve in return?

Trip to PSL

On Saturday i attended the closing party at Project Space Leeds to view the end of the exhibition that got renamed ' We all have our limits'.

I first have to say that i loved that space.it was a good size with a glass front.the floors were left very rough as well as the ceilings with all the pipes and dangling lights.this made me feel more comfortable being in this environment.it was good as well that i did not feel like i had to be quiet as if i was in a library or something.To the right are photographs i tried taking of the space and views.


The spaces seemed huge.This piece was by the collaborative group Matt&Ross and Dave Ronalds called 'Provisional Mechanism ('The way things blow').It was a piece made up of a fax machine mounted from the rafters among lights.there was also a smoke machine and fans.every now and again a fax would come through with nonsense written on it floating down to the down to the ground among people walking around and viewing the piece.The smoke from the smoke machine filled the whole of the gallery space and added to the slightly warehousey feeling to the whole place which i really like.I did not feel like i needed to be so precious.This space for one piece of work is really nice and allowed quite alot of people to walk around at one time without it getting too cluttered.



This space was for the collaborative group of Amy Stephens and Rory Macbeth.there was relatively quite a lot of space yet still quite a few pieces of work.i think that the addition to another board building the walls giving that extra height helped to make it feel like a divide rather than knowing you could easily reach over like the heights of the boards in our studio.



This is another view point of this space.i wanted to show exactly how much space you could get.instead of having to downscale your work so everyone can fit in a small space and be cluttered you can spread out and have space around your work so it can be appreciated more.


Here again i was trying to show views within the gallery space of viewpoints as if you were standing there.to the left as you went in you have a small cafe so you can cater for your guests as wel as possibly a chance of profit if they were to buy the refreshments whilst visiting PSL.There is a small walkway along the side of the cafe around to a large piece of work.this gives the illusion of work being separated into other rooms whilst still being one place.You then have a sculpture leading into the middle part which also leads around to the smoke and fax machine piece and back in a circle.

This was a space that was right next to the toilets but the toilets were hidden so they did not disrupt the work.There was a horse in this space for a while.the work then became a documentation of all of this.


The front of PSL was all glass.This was great as you could see the whole of Leeds outside.also people could see in passing on the riverbanks,possibly the train,the carpark and jsut generally walking past.also as it got darker with there being lights on in PSL it would glow and be a giant beacon.People may see this glow from a distance, wonder what it is and then go find out.


I wanted to show a photograph of these amazing ceilings.i loved the fact that the floors and ceilings were all rough and scratched up with light fittings just dangling.This helped me feel more at ease in the place as it wasn't the usual pristine white cube.



These last few images was for the mass amounts of space at the end piece for the collaborative piece between Rory Macbeth and Amy Stephens.The cafe edged around this area which i think helped with letting people know there was work around the corner.There was a huge amount of space left to say that the piece was mostly the table with many radios playing at each other.


'Suicide Friend' by Rory Macbeth and Amy Stephens, Antler, Found object.This wasn't really my thing i suppose as it seemed to simplified for me and also bunging together found objects.i do however like the shadows that are cast from the assembly of objects.

This was also an assembley of objects perfectly balanced


This piece was also by Rory Macbeth and Amy Stephens.there was part of a bannister attatched to the top of the wall and this frame hanging off it a bit like a door casting several shadows.


This was at the end opposite the radios.i took the photograph to show the scale of the work you could possibley display in this place whilst still letting other people have plenty of space


This piece had radio Leeds and radio London playing at each other.i like that this connects the collaboration as in each pairing of the collaborations there was one person from Leeds and one person from London







this was the board that you saw as soon as you came in the door which is supposed to say which artists are exhibitioning and more information.They had a play around with the letters and jumbled them up to make new random words.you do not notice this at first as it is the same layout as the real information on the leaflet.i also like how they have left the measurements of the boards on that makes up the wall.I like how this adds to the warehouse feeling and also the overall playful and mischievousness of the show.



There were cakes on plinths that you could take as a projection of cakes were shown on the wall

Inside this haybale wall showed a video piece by the same people that had the horse.I like how you have the space to build a wall out of haybales.It is just a good different feeling to the usual white plain walls.it also ties in with the work

I actually almost knocked over this sculpture but i caught it last minute.It was very light and not very well secured.I must have felt so relaxed that i was able to get that close to almost knock it over.Its not personally my choice in work so i didn't fins it that interesting.it was not sabbotage though i promise!


This piece was a piece of paper nailed to the wall which looks like a nail gun has been fired at it.
Another piece that Rory Macbeth did was attatching a microphone to the waste pipe from the toilets above PSL.It was linked up to a amplifier so you could hear a 'corporate shit'.
I spoke to Rory for a while and he said how the reason they changed the name of the show in the end is as the collaborations did not really work.As there was so much distance between people it was difficult to get in contact and only saw each other about four times the whole exhibition was on and they just really used each other as a place to sleep.Everytime they did meet in these four days they came down to the gallery and completely changed what was in there space.I think it is good that there is some rotation in the work and that the artists still have some engagement in the work thats in the gallery whilst the whole exhibition is on.Overall it was a good day